Sharing Sorrow
by btamamura
Summary: A Meitantei Holmes/Sherlock Hound fic. On the anniversary of her husband's passing, Marie Hudson is reminded that there are two who will always be there for her, no matter what. Inspired by the prompt 'Person A is crying. Person B moves A's hair away from their face and wipes their tears. OT3 Bonus: Person C pulls them into a group hug'. Platonic with some hints.


**Disclaimer:** _I do not own **Meitantei Holmes/Sherlock Hound** , the original **Sherlock Holmes** or any characters featured within. They are the property of their respective owners._

 **Notes: _In_** _Sherlock Hound_ ** _, Mrs. Hudson is a confirmed widow after losing her husband Jim in a horrific plane crash. After seeing a prompt on_** _otpprompts_ ** _, I felt it would be appropriate for the Baker Street Trio. As with my previous story, I will refer to the detective as_** _Sherlock Hound_ ** _._**

 _ **This prompt was for OT3, but for the timebeing, this is platonic. There are hints to Hound and Watson's crushes on her, but nothing more than that. This might be OOC at times, for which I apologise.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoy it!**_

 _ **(Linebreaks hate me so I will use** SHJWMH **.)**_

SHJWMH

It felt like a regular day to two of the residents of 221B Baker Street; Sherlock Hound was following a lead for a case he'd been assigned to and Dr. John H. Watson was reading the newspaper while awaiting his return.

For one resident though, it was not a regular day. For that day was a harsh reminder to Mrs. Marie Hudson of the love she'd lost shortly after they'd been wed. She wanted to stay in her room, not wishing to see anybody while she allowed herself to grieve in private. But, she couldn't do that. While she knew Hound and Watson would be more than a little understanding to her request for solitude, if only for the day, she didn't want to cause them any undue concern. Not while they had something else to work on.

No, she'd decided she would act like it was a regular day. She only hoped she was able to hold herself together until evening when she could have her privacy.

SHJWMH

Watson looked up as the door opened and smiled fondly at the kindly housekeeper. "Good day, Mrs. Hudson."

She forced a smile, her eyes barely expressing it. In her paws was a tray with a cup of tea and a plate of crumpets, which she set on the table. "I take it Mr. Hound hasn't returned yet?"

"Not yet, I'm afraid." He folded up the newspaper, set it down, rose to his feet and crossed the room. Pulling a chair away from the table, he added, "such a shame too, he's missing out on your delicious crumpets" before sitting down.

Normally, such a comment would elicit a giggle from her, but she couldn't bring herself to do so.

Watson paused in picking up a crumpet and looked to the woman. "I say, Mrs. Hudson, is something the matter? That usually makes you laugh. Are you unwell?"

"Oh, no, I'm alright."

"Hmm...if you say so, but if you should start to feel poorly, then please do let me know and I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Dr. Watson, I do appreciate it."

SHJWMH

Hound had had no luck with the lead, it seemed to be a red herring. "I should've surmised that much sooner. Nothing else for it, may as well head for home and discuss what should be done next with Watson." Thoughts of home often brought to mind the beautiful blonde, mainly warm thoughts of her beautiful smile, silky hair, tender voice and sparkling eyes. "Come to think of it...Mrs. Hudson didn't seem to be herself at all this morning when she saw me off." He thought about it carefully. "Her body was rigid, her voice sounded tired, her smile seemed false and her eyes...they were dull. Hold on..." He started to pick up the pace, hurriedly walking to where he'd parked his car. Something told him he had to hurry home immediately.

SHJWMH

The strain of trying to hold herself together was starting to take a toll on Mrs. Hudson. Her paws were starting to tremble as she poured some tea. "Dr. Watson, I've prepared another cup of tea for you."

His ears perked at the sound of her voice. He frowned in concern as he looked to her and noticed her shaking. He hurriedly rose to his feet, gently took the teapot out of her paws, set it on the table and, with an arm around her, escorted her to the sofa. "Mrs. Hudson, you should sit down, my dear." He helped her be seated. "You're appearing pallid and you're shaking. Are you sure you're not unwell?"

She bowed her head. "I'm not unwell...but I am sick."

"I don't quite understand."

"My heart is sick. I..." She lifted a paw to her mouth and inhaled sharply before bowing her torso.

He was alarmed. The sharp inhalation meant only one thing. He quickly sat beside her and took her other paw in his two. "Something has you aggrieved, doesn't it? Mrs. Hudson, you may feel free to speak about it with me if you wish. It might help you feel a little better."

She looked up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. She'd never wanted Hound or Watson to see her weep, and yet, there was Watson offering her as much support as she required.

He lifted a paw to her forehead, brushing aside some hair that had fallen loose when she'd bowed forward, then used the pad of his thumb to wipe away a tear. "Something is hurting you, and my heart aches seeing you suffer so."

She collapsed against him, crying into his chest while clinging onto the fabric of his vest.

He closed his eyes, ears drooping slightly, as he wrapped his arms around her.

SHJWMH

Hound parked his car and hurried inside the townhouse, racing up the stairs, deerstalker hat being flung to and landing on the designated hat peg. He could hear sobs coming from the sitting room. The sound of those sobs sent sharp pangs into his heart, he knew they were coming from Mrs. Hudson. He quietly entered the room and saw her and Watson on the sofa, her face buried into Watson's chest.

Watson looked to the doorway as he heard familiar footfalls and saw the detective. He frowned and mouthed _she's mourning_.

Hound frowned in concern and approached the pair. It seemed nothing was going to be able to get Mrs. Hudson to move until she had ceased weeping. He sat on her right and upon closer inspection, noticed the sorrow in Watson's eyes. He knew the doctor cared for the housekeeper too. He pocketed his pipe and pulled both of them into an embrace, his chest against Mrs. Hudson's back, his paws on Watson's back. He closed his eyes and bowed his head so his bangs would hide them.

SHJWMH

It was ten minutes later when Mrs. Hudson started to move, causing the group embrace to break. Watson kept a paw on her back for extra physical consoling. Hound brought out a clean handkerchief and offered it to her. "I trust you feel a little better now, Mrs. Hudson?"

She was surprised to see he was there, but graciously accepted the handkerchief with words of gratitude, using it to wipe her eyes and gently blow her nose. With a sniff, she asked, "when did you return, Mr. Hound?"

"I believe it was ten minutes ago by approximation. Are you alright?" He took hold of her right paw gently.

She sighed before nodding. "I am still hurting, but I don't feel as bad anymore."

Watson cleared his throat before speaking, feeling if he hadn't, his voice wouldn't come out. "Excuse me if I am being forward, but were you mourning your late husband?"

Another nod. "It's the anniversary of...that day."

"The memories are sure to feel much more fresh on a day like this."

"They do. Not just the bad ones, but the ones I'm blessed to have. Still, I miss him so."

Hound nodded once in acknowledgement. "You've seemed to be in a sorrowful state all day. Have you been to visit his grave?"

"Not yet, no."

He exchanged glances with Watson before returning his gaze to Mrs. Hudson. "Then, if we may, we'd like to accompany you. If you'd rather we don't, then we'll accept that."

She shook her head. "I would appreciate not having to do so alone. Thank you." As a show of gratitude for both of her dear friends, she gave them each a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for being here. I had considered it would be best to be alone today, but I feel otherwise."

"If you'd like, we can leave after you've had a chance to freshen up."

"I'd like that." She rose to her feet and started making her way out of the room. She turned to look back at them. "I shall meet you downstairs." At that, she turned once more and left the room, closing the door after herself.

Hound and Watson exchanged glances once more. "I'm glad you were able to take care of Mrs. Hudson while I was out. Thank you, my dear friend."

Watson sighed. "I only wish I'd noticed sooner. She said she was fine, but now I know otherwise."

"No, I think she will be fine. She still appeared melancholy, but at the same time, she felt like the Mrs. Hudson we know and cherish dearly." He rose to his feet and offered assistance to Watson.

Watson accepted the help and rose to his feet. He straightened his vest and went to get his jacket off the back of the chair he sat in earlier in the day. "How were the leads?"

"I believe them to be red herrings, they didn't lead anywhere."

"I see."

"We can discuss that later. For now, we need to continue to be there for Mrs. Hudson." He removed his pipe from his pocket and replaced it in his mouth. "I'll light this later."

The doctor nodded as he buttoned up his jacket and followed the detective out of the room.

SHJWMH

 **After-notes:** _**Thanks for reading! I've done it again; taken something lighthearted for the most part and written something sad. My writing reflects my mood in most cases and my mood has been pretty low since the start of the year so it's not surprising. I decided to end my story where I had because the focus was on Mrs. Hudson trying and failing to hold herself together, and how Watson and Hound respond to it.**_

 _ **The prompt used was** Person A is crying. Person B moves A's hair away from their face and wipes their tears. OT3 Bonus: Person C pulls them into a group hug._

 _ **Thanks again for reading! As always, you don't have to review but if you do want to say something, please do not flame. Constructive criticism is welcome.**_


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